Ah, Hawaii. Whether it’s your first trip or the islands are your second home, Hawaii is such a special destination. With service from 15 major US cities, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii’s hometown carrier, is an excellent choice for a trip to Hawaii.
As a Bilt Rewards transfer partner, you can use your points to book an award flight or upgrade your flight for a more comfortable journey. Hawaiian Airlines also offers more than 130 daily flights between the Hawaiian Islands so you can easily do some island hopping too.
Here’s how you can use your Bilt Points to travel to Hawaii.
Where Does Hawaiian Airlines Fly?
Hawaiian Airlines flies to many major US cities, including the West Coast nicely with a few flights to further away cities such as Austin, Boston, and New York City.
While they do have partnerships with major US airlines, you won’t be able to combine those flights on an award ticket using HawaiianMiles. That means you might have to use your Bilt Rewards Points to book a ticket from your home airport to one of these Hawaiian Airlines gateways. Transfer your Bilt Points to HawaiianMiles on the ‘Travel’ tab in the Bilt app.
Hawaiian also has island hopping covered well, with a robust inter-island flight schedule (Hawaiian refers to these as “Neighbor Islands”) which connects the Hawaiian Islands with more than 130 daily flights.
How Much Do Award Flights Cost On Hawaiian Airlines
HawaiianMiles’ award chart is organized in “pricing bands” with several tiers for flight prices, driven by demand on routes. As you might expect, the further you fly the higher the price bands are. All award pricing is based on one-way flights.
From the West Coast, Main Cabin flights start as low as 20,000 HawaiianMiles and can go as high as 90,000 miles. First-class flights vary from 40,000 to 80,000 HawaiianMiles. You can expect popular routes such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to cost more than less traveled routes. If you have Pulani Elite elite status, you can receive a discount on the amount of miles an award flight costs.
From the middle of the country, you’ll pay a bit more according to HawaiianMiles’ “Central” chart (essentially Austin):
Lastly, award bookings from the East Coast in Main Cabin start at 30,000 and go as high as 130,000 HawaiianMiles one-way. First-class awards from the East Coast start at 40,000 miles and top out at 130,000 miles one-way.
Neighbor Island flights have their own chart as well. These flights start at 7,500 miles one-way and cap out at 20,000 miles. First-class awards are available and range from 15,000 to 30,000 miles one-way, but the Neighbor Island flights are so short you likely want to gauge if spending extra miles for first class is worth it or not in your situation.
Upgrading Paid Tickets On Hawaiian Airlines
Another great use of HawaiianMiles is upgrading paid tickets on Hawaiian Airlines. This is especially true during off-peak periods, when flight prices may also be cheaper. For flights to the US lower 48, first-class upgrades start at 25,000 HawaiianMiles and go as high as 50,000 miles one-way. Prices for upgrades are the same for all three US regions.
While you can’t search for upgrade inventory on the Hawaiian Airlines website before purchasing a ticket, you can use the website ExpertFlyer.com to see if you have a shot at an upgrade. After a quick look at non-stop flights from Las Vegas to Honolulu, I found several dates available over the next couple of months.
When searching on ExpertFlyer.com for first-class flight and upgrade inventory there are three separate fare buckets to consider:
A class is generally reserved for mileage upgrades to first class.
D class is generally reserved for discounted first-class awards.
P class is generally reserved for business class (international flights) and flexible first-class fares.
How to Enroll in the HawaiianMiles program
Enrolling in the HawaiianMiles program is free and easy to complete, and you’ll need to enroll if you want to book an award flight. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
Visit the Hawaiian Airlines website and enroll in HawaiianMiles
Now you can transfer Bilt Points to your HawaiianMiles account to book your next trip
Bilt Rewards points transfer on a 1:1 basis and most transfers are instant.
How to Book an Award Flight
Login to your Hawaiian Airlines account
Select the ‘Book’ button then select ‘Flights’
3. Enter your flight information and select ‘Miles’ as your fare option
4. Browse your options
Bottom Line
There are a ton of options when it comes to airlines that fly to Hawaii although Hawaiian Airlines offers a unique experience compared to competitors. They have a wonderful lie-flat first/business class product on many of their long-haul flights, something you won’t find as frequently with other carriers. Their crews also have an onboard charm that’s unmatched. And, it’s the only airline where you can easily arrange for your party to be greeted with a fresh flower Lei upon arrival.
Make sure to transfer your Bilt Points to HawaiianMiles on February 1st where 1 Bilt Point will earn you 2 HawaiianMiles, making your next flight to Hawaii even closer.